A Journal Editor’s Perspective: Tips for Authors

Jay LiebowitzOrkand Endowed Chair in Management and Technology The Graduate SchoolUniversity of Maryland University College 3501 University Boulevard East Adelphi, Maryland 20783jliebowitz@umuc.edu(Author of multiple books by Taylor & Francis and Editor-in-Chief, Expert Systems With Applications: An International Journal, published by Elsevier)

Don’t plagiarize or self-plagiarize.

Don’t submit multiple papers to the journal (especially in a row, one after the other).

Don’t ask to change the affiliations of the authors or add/delete authors after the paper is accepted (especially for tenure & promotion reasons).

It is to your advantage to read recent papers from the journal where you are submitting your paper, so you are well-informed on what has already been published in that journal.

Don’t send in “old” papers.

Don’t use the format of another journal, suggesting that you are submitting a paper that was previously rejected from that journal or that you are submitting the paper simultaneously to two journals.

Don’t submit papers concurrently to multiple journals (this is considered unethical publishing practice, along the same degree as plagiarism).

Be sure that your paper is well-written and devoid of spelling/grammatical errors (if English isn’t your native language, you’ll need to have a fluent English-speaking editor check your paper BEFORE you submit it).

Don’t have us go through the review process, only to get an email later indicating that the paper has been accepted elsewhere.

Please be sure that the paper/research falls within the aims and scope of the journal (e.g., if the journal deals with intelligent systems research and applications, then the paper must entail intelligent system techniques).

Don’t say the incorrect journal name in the cover letter.

Please clearly articulate what is the significant contribution of your research versus what has already been published.